There was an odd sponsorship deal struck this week by the Malaysian company Air Asia. It’s a little bit of a confusing deal, but they have become one of the biggest sponsors of the Oakland Raiders. The airline doesn’t fly to the United States. It only just recently started flying to the UK, but since this sponsorship deal went down, it’s easy to imagine that this company has it in their plans to fly into the US in the near future. The Raiders aren’t the best team, as we know, but that doesn’t matter to the company. It’s about creating a global image, global branding. They also have a plan to try to fly a thousand fans over to Oakland for the opener in September. Air Asia might have gotten in on the ground floor of something good.

A lot of people are telling the Dallas Cowboys to forget the issue with Terrell Owens. Yes, he’s gone, and it seems like a bit of a strange decision in a lot of ways. But a lot of people are telling them to just stop talking about it. As you might know, Owens was released from the Cowboys earlier this year in an attempt to make the offense more Tony Romo-friendly. Getting rid of Owens seemed like the first thing to do, and clearly he had been creating so many more distractions off the field that the on-the-field performance had trouble getting the attention. The Cowboys are hoping that they can put the Owens thing behind them finally and then move forward to get back into the playoff hunt for real.

Brett Favre is back in the news, because there are some odd reports that he is already signed with the Vikings. It’s not clear if league rules allow such a thing, but it’s probable that they do not. But there are a couple of people saying that he signed a contract that hasn’t yet been filed with the league office. This gives us the impression that he might well be there. And at the same time, Favre has been referring to the Vikings organization as “we” and he’s been seeing the team therapist for his arm and all these kinds of things. We will hope that they finally announce what’s going on, because they’re being even more secretive than James Bond!

One of the biggest changes in the NFL in the last few years is the shift to a lot of running back support. Before, a lot of people would have said that the quarterback is much more important than running backs. Obviously, they’re both very important, but people have finally realized that not everyone can have a major QB who can throw 110 yards while facing the opposite direction. As a result, the running game has become much more important than it was before. This is a way for a team to get more yardage if they don’t have the best throwers or receivers. There are many good runners all across the NFL right now. But every good offense inspires a strong defense, so it will be interesting to see what kinds of running defenses are devised in response!

On HBO last night, the live produced Joe Buck Show started off with a real bang! Brett Favre was, of course, on the show and didn’t say much. The most that he gave hints about, unwittingly, regarding his possible future with the Vikings was when he said that playing in Minnesota would really make sense and referred to the organization as “we” once or twice. But he didn’t actually give any details or let much slip.

Meanwhile, the real hit of the show was comedian Artie Lange, who came on and did an insane set. He laughed at a famous player’s DUI arrest video, used language on live TV that would make Nixon blush and you wouldn’t want your kids to hear it. Buck and Lange went at it at some points and it almost seemed like Lange was trying to torpedo the show. Said former Cowboys star Michael Irwin, “It’s just refreshing to see white-on-white crime.”

Michael Vick is in the process of trying to get himself back into the good graces of NFL fans all around the country. After the last couple of years with his dog fighting problems, he has become the veritable definition of villain in the league. People are a little bit more skeptical if he will be able to do this. But one person who thinks he should definitely be given the chance is his former coach Jim Mora. He did an interview this week and said that Vick should be given a second chance. It’s not clear what his angle is, except that he coached Vick in Atlanta before. He’s now the coach in Seattle, the team that people have been thinking might actually take Vick. What is clear, however, is that Vick clearly has a line of coaches, players and other league elders standing up for him right now, trying to get him some legitimacy in the sports again. We’ll see how that works.

Brett Favre just can’t stay out of the news, can he? This guy just keeps the speculation going on and on, and I think he might like it that way. It was reported last night that Favre recently had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, which had prevented him from competing properly this season. The reports state that the surgery suggests that he will be coming back this season. It’s not clear why, but the surgery seems to be otherwise unnecessary if you’re just going into private life. They’re talking as though he’s certain to start for the Minnesota Vikings unless he doesn’t recover from the surgery well enough. This is going to be a story that will keep coming up for the next several weeks as the news checks sources all over.

Brian Westbrook, Running Back for the Philadelphia Eagles, is going to have his ankle operated upon this week, on advice from doctors. He hasn’t had much in the way of major problems with his ankles, aside from a high ankle sprain last season that took him out for a game or two. But he is reported to have bone spurs in the ankle right now and this surgery is intended to clean those up and help him to be able to run without hinderance next season. A source familiar with the decision says that he wouldn’t have this surgery if the season were underway, but since it isn’t, he wants to get this situation sorted out as best as possible now. He will probably miss a chunk of training camp in the meantime while he heals up a bit before the season actually begins.

Jon Jansen has been playing with the Washington Redskins for several years now, but he’s been injured frequently for a little while lately. He only missed a few snaps in his first years with the team, but injured legs, arms and hands over the last couple years have hindered his playing ability. The Redskins decided that they needed to move on. He said, however, he wanted to keep playing, so they cut him and released him from his contract. The Detroit Lions decided that it would be a good idea to bring in his experience and his talent for next year, and he signed a 1 year deal with them. The Lions, with a winless record last season, need as much help as they can get and Jansen will help the team out.